DCAU influences on mainstream comics
The DCAU, though it is primarily derivative of DC Comics, produced several creative innovations that were adapted into the mainstream comics and other media. Original Characters The following is a partial list of characters created for the DCAU who found their way into the mainstream comics: Harley Quinn Arguably the most successful "addition" to the mainstream comics is Harley Quinn, the Joker's girlfriend. She was initially introduced in the episode "Joker's Favor", voiced by Arleen Sorkin. The character quickly became hugely popular. DC released a graphic novel, Batman: Harley Quinn giving Harley's "official" origin in the comics continuity. This origin is very similar to the one in "Mad Love". Television: A character named Dr. Harleen Quinzel was the main antagonist of the short-lived Birds of Prey live-action series, which takes place in a Gotham City after both Batman and the Joker have passed on. Posing as a legitimate psychiatrist, Harleen is secretly a criminal mastermind, seeking revenge against Gotham City as a whole, and especially against the Birds of Prey (whose ranks include Batman and Selina Kyle's daughter, Helena), for Joker's death. She was played in the un-aired pilot episode by Sherilyn Fenn, and in every episode thereafter by Mia Sara. Ironically, Harley's incorporation into the mainstream comics also led to her inclusion in the Bat-embargo, which came into effect around the time the second season of was being produced, and which barred the use of any Batman-universe characters in further DCAU productions. Harley appears as a character in the non-DCAU animated series The Batman, where she is voiced by Hynden Walch. She also appears in the Batman: The Brave And The Bold episode "Emperor Joker" voiced by Meghan Strange. On the Parallel Earth seen in the DC Universe Original Animated Movie, "Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths", where the Joker's counterpart is known as "The Jester", Harley is a monkey wearing a miniature version of The Jester's outfit and is distraught when learning of his demise. In the Amalgam Comic, Legends Of The Dark Claw, Hyena (a combination of Joker and Marvel Comics' Sabretooth) is given the name "Creed H. Quinn". Renee Montoya Montoya was created for the Writer's Bible as an audience viewpoint and minority character—the GPD's roster in the comics included white men mostly. The concept proved so popular that she was taken over in the comics. She deputed in Batman #475 (cover date March 1992), as Gordon's new assistant. Her first words were "Madre de Dios", a phrase she later used in the DCAU twice. In the Writer's Bible, she was described as a child of Crime Alley, devoted to charity work for the Cathedral, and the widow of another cop. She had a strong dislike of Bruce Wayne because of his lack of charity work. However, none of it ever made it into the series or the comics. Starting as a beat cop, she became a detective around the same time in the comics and series, but the comics character grew even more. She appeared prominently during the Knightfall storyline, when she faced off with serial killer Mr. Zsasz, and helped Batman defeat him. Subsequent stories fill in her background as the child of immigrants from the Dominican Republic, who, impressively, worked her way up through the mostly male, mostly white GCPD ranks. During the No Man's Land story line, she served as a negotiator between Gordon and Two-Face, who took a liking to her. After she refused his love, he outed her as a lesbian. After quitting her job, breaking up with her girlfriend and battling alcohol, she was taken under the wing of Vic Sage, the Question. They were mayor players in 52, and she eventually became the second Question when Vic died of lung cancer. As The Question, she has teamed up with Huntress on several occasions (likely in respect to Vic's time with her). In the Second Feature of Detective Comics #862, The Question: Pipeline Chapter Two Part Three, Renee and Helena mirror the Question/Huntress in the episode "Question Authority" as Huntress is fighting people off while Renee gets information from a computer and make similar remarks when they both finish. Renee is featured as Commissioner of Gotham City in both the Titans Tomorrow future (talking to the retired Commissioner Gordon) in Teen Titans (Vol. 3) #17 (Part 1 of the Titans Tomorrow storyline) and Batman's Key-induced dreamstate of a future Gotham in JLA #8. The character of Detective Anna Ramirez, played by Monique Gabriela Curnen in The Dark Knight and voiced by Ana Ortiz in Batman: Gotham Knight may have been partially based on Montoya. Mercy Graves Mercy first appeared in Detective Comics #735 (part of Batman: No Man's Land), was in a situation with Batman and Lex in Batman #573 similar to that in World's Finest, and later became Luthor's personal bodyguard (along with a woman named Hope) after his election as President of the United States. In the comics continuity, there is a suggestion that Mercy and Hope are Amazons, as they have sufficient strength to stagger even Superman, and recognize the sorceress Circe on sight, just as Wonder Woman does. Both Hope and Mercy have currently left Luthor, and both seemed to be interested in working with Steel against their former boss. Television: In the eighth season of the series Smallville, the character named "Tess Mercer" is a fusion of the names Eve Teschmacher (from Superman: The Movie and Superman II) and Mercy.http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=17502 Much like Mercy, she is blindly devoted to Luthor and carries out his every command, claiming he saved her life a few years ago. In the episode "Toxic", Oliver Queen gives her the nickname "Mercy". Livewire First appearing in the episode of the same name, Livewire was first introduced into the comics in Action Comics #835, published in March 2006. Her origin story in the comics was very similar to her DCAU origins—in both instances, she was previously a shock jock named Leslie who enjoyed humiliating Superman on her radio show. However, there were differences: * In the comics, Leslie ended up losing her job at the radio station before becoming Livewire. However, in the DCAU, she still had her job, and was in fact hosting a huge concert to celebrate her anniversary of working at the station when she was hit by lightning. * In the comics, Leslie was able to control electricity from birth, whereas her DCAU counterpart only gained this power after being hit by lightning. Terry McGinnis The character has had many recent cameo appearances in mainstream comics. To date, there have been a few different incarnations of Terry in the comics: * On Earth-12, a next generation Earth, Terry is Batman. He appeared in Countdown to Final Crisis #21 and Superman/Batman #21-24. ** Also, the next appearance of Earth-12, in Countdown: Arena #1, shows a descendant of Hal Jordan (also named Hal Jordan) specifically mentioning Rigel-9 as John Stewart did in his first DCAU appearance in Part Two of the Series Premiere, "Secret Origins". * In Batman #700, Damian Wayne rescues a baby identified as Warren and Mary McGinnis' son. Years later, Terry takes up the mantle and fights Joker and the Jokerz from Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. This version of Terry was mentioned again in Superman/Batman #75. * In Superman/Batman Annual #4, Paul Levitz wrote a story that took place after "The Call", dealing with Superman's issues after Lois' death. This Terry faces off against a new Hush in his own 2010 6-issue miniseries, Hush Beyond. In January 2011, the ongoing Batman Beyond comic series started. ** A single "Superman Beyond #0" issue was released focusing on Superman in that time dealing with his powers waning and wondering what to do now that his place in the world has changed. Several aspects of his costume were adapted for other characters as well: the red emblem was used in Kate Kane's Batwoman outfit, and the full face mask was used in the Batgirl costumes of Huntress and Cassandra Cain (both traits were used by Batwoman in Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman). In Trinity, Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman are revealed to be keystones for the universe. After several machinations by both friend and foe alike, the Trinity assume the role of gods by fully accepting their roles as the keystones. They all grow to tremendous size and take on a form more symbolic of their nature than their physical forms. Batman's form is enormous amount of darkness with only red eyes and his bat emblem in red. This gives him a very similar appearance to Terry in his suit (especially when he finally shrinks down) and in the final issue of Trinity as they are explaining why they choose to be who they are without being gods, Batman explains that who they are is not "beyond". In Justice League Of America #55, Dick Grayson flies a ship similar to both the first Batwing and the fourth Batmobile (in outer space) and wears a suit similar to Terry McGinnis's Batsuit, but with red lines extending from the emblem throughout the suit. Ace (The Bat-Hound) The version of Ace is introduced in the first issue of the 2010 Batman Beyond miniseries. More recently however, in Issue #2 of the 2011 Batman And Robin series, Bruce is shown adopting a Great Dane. What name he will give the dog and its history are not yet known. Warhawk In a reality warped by Kwaku Anansi (in [[w:c:dcdatabase:JLA Vol 1|JLA #22-#26]]), alternate versions of well-known heroes are created. One alternate hero is named "Hawk". He wears a red version of Warhawk's armor, complete with wings. Warhawk also appears in the first storyline of the Batman Beyond ongoing comic series along with the rest of the Justice League Unlimited. Roxy Rocket Roxy Rocket made a cameo appearance in Detective Comics #822 (written by Paul Dini). She appeared near the end of Batgirl #6 where she is identified by Roulette as "Every insurance company's nightmare, and every wild man's fantasy, Roxanne "Rocket" Sutton". She made her first proper appearance in Batgirl #7, battling the new Batgirl, Stephanie Brown. Volcana Volcana has had cameo apperances in Superman comics. One cameo was in the 2010 Superman 80-Page Giant where she is seen fighting Superman in the outfit she wore on and . Lock-Up Lock-Up's role in the comics is similar to that of a vigilante jailer. During the No Man's Land storyline, when public order was completely broken down in Gotham City after a catastrophic earthquake, Batman has Lock-Up serve as warden of Blackgate Prison, to keep the inmates inside from overrunning the city. Lock-Up has, on occasion (e.g. in Gotham Underground #2), been referred to as "Lockdown" (usually by those who don't seem to care about getting names right as they are just bossing people around). Character Revamps Two-Face In Two-Face: Year One, Harvey Dent is shown seeing a psychiatrist about his anger problems like he was in the episode, "Two-Face". The psychiatrist theorizes that it's due to another side of Harvey's personality. Also, Harvey's file is stolen from the psychiatrist's office to use against him. Clayface The original Clayface from the comics, Basil Karlo, had certain attributes adapted into the animated incarnation of Matt Hagen, who, in the comics, was the second Clayface. However, after finished airing, Karlo joined up with various other persons that have gone by the title of Clayface (in a group known as the Mudpack) and absorbed all of their combined shape-shifting powers. After this, his size and appearance became much more like that of the animated version of Matt Hagen. A recent figure release in the DC Universe Classics line even has Clayface identified as Basil Karlo, but with the exact same appearance as the animated version. Clock King The DCAU version of the Clock King (Temple Fugate) was a complete reinvention from the original (named William Tockman). In Teen Titans #56, the Temple Fugate version of the character was introduced into the comics younger, more psychotic and with precognitive abilities as opposed to an excellent sense of timing. Killer Croc Waylon Jones was originally (and was consistently referred to as) a human with a very rare skin condition. made a point of introducing him as a mutated human with reptilian attributes to his body (and seemingly his DNA). Batman examining one of his teeth and finding it to have both human and reptilian characteristics confirms that Croc in the DCAU seems to be a genuine "lizard man". Throughout the past decade, the comics have slowly made him more and more reptilian, mentioning in the Hush storyline that his body is mutating rapidly for some reason. The character currently has fully developed jaws and even a tail. Mr. Freeze In the comics, Mr. Freeze was originally a gimmicky, mad scientist character. The animated portrayal made him both more complex and more sympathetic, showing his "frozen" condition to be the result of a tragic accident involving his terminally ill wife. The comics Freeze's origin was retconned to reflect this deeper history. The re-vamped comic book origin adds a backstory showing that Victor Fries was abused as a child, both by his father and by childhood bullies. As an escape, he developed a habit of freezing insects and live animals in jars of water, because, as he explained to a psychiatrist, he liked to preserve them as they looked, unchanged and beautiful. Meeting Nora in college, the shy boy fell passionately in love. As in the animated series, when Nora fell ill, he froze her while looking for a cure for her condition, and suffered the accident when his corporate employers attempted to shut her capsule down. In a confrontation between Batman and Mr. Freeze, Freeze inadvertently blasted Nora's cryo-capsule, causing it to shatter. Blaming Batman for his wife's death, Freeze swore revenge. Parasite The animated incarnation of the Parasite was fairly close to the original incarnation of Rudy Jones, aside from having a slightly different overall appearance that resembles the pre-Crisis Maxwell Jensen version; the comic version lacked the distinctive 'bands' that were part of the animated Parasite's design. Soon after, this band pattern seen on the animated Parasite was used on the comic version. Later still, the comic Parasite mutated further and acquired a mouth full of sharp teeth, almost like a leech; this appearance was used as the basis for Parasite's appearance in , "Epilogue". Recent appearances in Blue Beetle and Superman #700 have him in his more friendly appearance. Riddler Before his appearance in , Edward Nygma's usual costume was a green jumpsuit riddled with question marks. In comic appearances subsequent to , he wears the more subdued look (green suit and bowler hat) used in that series. A similar suit was worn by Frank Gorshin during a few instances in the 60's Adam West Batman TV show (the actor was uncomfortable wearing the jumpsuit in most of his appearances) and occasionally shown in the comics, but the animated series popularized it enough that it became the Riddler's default look in the comics. In Red Robin #19, Red Robin is mentally trapped in a virtual world where Riddler acts as his subconscious trying to to tell him what he already knows. The costume Riddler wears there is the same as the one he wears on and . Static The original comic incarnation of Static was published by Milestone Media, but very little of the comics was used for his animated counterpart. Recently, after years of legal paperwork, Static has joined the Teen Titans series in the mainstream DC Comics, with a costume very similar to the uniform he wore during seasons 3 and 4 of . His first mainstream appearance was at the end of Terror Titans #3. Issue 4, his first active appearance, showed him to have resistance to mind control, as he did on the episode "Attack of the Living Brain Puppets". An older Static, who appeared in Milestone Forever #2, sported a chin beard and hairdo similar to the old Static seen in "Future Shock". John Stewart John Stewart's animated incarnation has a very different backstory to that of his comic-book incarnation; in that whilst his comic counterpart was a former architect before becoming a Green Lantern, his animated incarnation was a former marine. Recent appearances by his character have attempted to insert part of this backstory in with that of his comic version. The comics also began using the exact same suit and appearance that he was seen using in , minus the black gloves (except for certain occasions like the 2011 Justice League Of America 80 Page Giant where he is drawn with the black gloves). * In JLA #13, John Stewart says that he would look good bald and might grow a goatee "to add a little funk", which he did in . J'onn J'onzz The Martian Manhunter's animated appearance very closely matched his traditional appearance in the comics for years, that of a cloak, harness, pants and boots. However, after the "One Year Later" gap, the comic incarnation of the character began wearing a full-body suit very similar to what the Justice Lord J'onn wore (with certain elements of the traditional look worked in). This look was kept until the character's death in Final Crisis. Perhaps in remembrance of that, J'onn wears the full body suit on Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths while his Crime Syndicate counterpart, J'edd J'arkuss, wears an outfit similar to the traditional one. J'onn's new look (since being resurrected at the end of the Blackest Night storyline) is mainly the traditional look, but has some of the full-body suit's elements worked in (such as full-length pants and a red circle in the middle of the harness). Supergirl In 1996, at the same time that was airing, the current incarnation of Supergirl was given a comic series. This Supergirl was the combined merged form of a life-form known as Matrix and a human girl named Linda Danvers. Eventually, she was given the exact same costume and physical appearance that Kara In-Ze had right up until her costume change in "Chaos at the Earth's Core". Interestingly enough, the DCAU version's costume change happened not too long after the Kara Zor-El version of the character had been reintroduced into the mainstream DC Universe. Tim Drake After the 'One Year Later' gap, Tim Drake began wearing a red and black suit that closely resembled his animated appearance for four years before switching to his new Red Robin identity. His previous suit was essentially the one seen being worn by the animated version of Dick Grayson during his time as Robin. He also became orphaned and was adopted by Bruce Wayne like his animated counterpart. The explanation given for his costume change is that it's meant to honor the death of Superboy, who wore those colors. The Robin suit display in "Sins of the Father" is a reference to the memorial for Jason Todd in the comics. In the Darkseid-created "Unternet" that appears in Red Robin, Tim's avatar mixes elements of his Red Robin suit and Nightwing's suit (including the feathered pattern originally used in ). Toyman In 2006, a new robotic version of the Toyman was introduced into [[w:c:dcdatabase:Action Comics Vol 1 837|Action Comics #837]], working for Lex Luthor. His appearance highly resembles the animated Toyman, who was merely a human wearing a doll-like mask. It is later revealed that this Toyman was created by the original human incarnation, Winslow Scott. He was later renamed as 'Toyboy'. Zatanna Zatanna's comics history has been retconned to include her father, Zatara, teaching Batman in escape artistry and ventriloquism. In addition, Thomas Wayne became friends with Zatara some time before his marriage to Martha Kane. It is because of this that Bruce and Zatanna meet at a party that Alfred arranged in hopes of cheering Bruce up after his parents' murder. Stemming from this into their time together in the League, a strong attraction is present between the two, though it is never acted on. Other Influences Mainstream Comics * Lois Lane's nickname for Clark Kent, "Smallville", was later used by Lois in the comics and the tv series Smallville. Also, in comics, Lois's eye color would change frequently by different artists. For much of the modern era they were either blue or brown, but after appearing on with violet eyes, she began to typically have purple eyes in the comics as well. * On many occasions throughout the comics, Batman's collection of Batmobiles past and present is seen to include those seen on movies and TV shows. One such example in the conclusion of the Heart Of Hush storyline (Detective Comics #850), features a shot of the second and third DCAU Batmobiles, the Tumbler from the Nolan movies, and a partially built Batmobile from the Burton movies. * The two spikes on the forearm (instead of the usual three) on Terry McGinnis's Batsuit in has since been used on numerous occasions when Bruce is not the one under the cowl. Examples include the future Tim Drake's in the Teen Titans storyline "Titans Tomorrow", Batman's Key-induced dreamstate in JLA #8, and Dick Grayson's costume while he was Batman after Bruce's supposed death. * The Titans Tomorrow future also features a statue of Superman and Lex Luthor back to back like the one in the episode "Brave New Metropolis" in the Titans' "Hall Of Mentors". * Gotham gangs emulating the Joker have come to be known as Jokerz (like in the Batman Beyond future), as opposed to earlier appearances where they're called "Killer Clowns". In Detective Comics #867, Richard Wheeler takes after J-Man and dresses up like the Joker, but with the Elvis influence going beyond the hair. ** Also in that issue, a flashback reveals the Joker attempting to escape from Batman with a jet-pack like the one in "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" and likewise fails to because of a leak. * Batman: No Man's Land Secret Files and Origins features a story called "No Man's Land: The Animated Series", written and drawn by Scott Peterson and Craig Rousseau. In the story, Batman and Batgirl (Cassandra Cain) are on a stake-out; it is later revealed that it was, in fact, a TV show. * In Catwoman (Vol 2) #89, Harley Quinn attempts to sell a story idea about Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and herself, but ends up using a can of laughing gas on everybody there when they completely change the story pitch. The art used in the comic for Harley's "pitch" uses / style. ** This appears to be a recurring theme for Harley as the / style is also used in issue #10 of her own series when she imagines Batman suddenly bursting through the window (and is then inspired to become a bat herself). * In Catwoman (Vol 3) #64 and #65, Catwoman uses a time machine (twice) to go back in time a few minutes like she did in the episode "Cat -n- Mouse -n- Cat -n- Mouse -n-". * The short story "Off Rogue Racing" in Batman Annual #27 features Annie next to Clayface. * In Batman: Streets of Gotham #4, Black Mask buys a pig farm that used to belong to Farmer Brown. The story was written by Paul Dini. * In [[w:c:dcdatabase:Batman Vol 1 666|Batman #666]], a future is shown with Damian Wayne (Bruce Wayne and Talia's son) as Batman. In this future, Barbara Gordon, though still confined to a wheelchair, has followed in her father's footsteps (figuratively speaking) and become police commissioner (as she did in the future of ). * Dark Claw Adventures #1, featuring Dark Claw (a combination of Batman and Wolverine), resembles The Batman Adventures comic book in title, drawing style, and creative team. * In Birds Of Prey #15, a TV screen is shown in the background with an unclear image of what looks like the Batman Beyond Batsuit with the red symbol and wings turned blue and the utility belt colored the usual yellow. ** Note: had only been airing for about a year at the time of this issue. * In Batman: Shadow Of The Bat #1,000,000, Batman 1,000,000 tells his origin story through a tape to a group of his rogues and finishes by crashing through the ceiling and telling them who he is. He starts with "I am Vengeance". as Batman did in the episode "Nothing to Fear" when pushing through Scarecrow's fear gas, but expands on it as most of the aspects of the 1,000,000 heroes are from their present day counterparts. * In the DC One Million 80-Page Giant, alternate versions of the JLA appear and start fighting for the right to be considered the real one. At one point, a Batman points out they don't all have an equal claim as the rest are the imaginary ones. This Batman wears a suit similar in style to Terry McGinnis's Batsuit, but the bat emblem and belt are colored grey and the spikes on the forearms are closer to the elbow. * In Joker: Last Laugh #4, Black Mass, who had been "Jokerized" along with all of the other prisoners in the Slab, was shot. Before effectively dying, he echoes the Joker's last words on Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker: "That's not funny. That's not..". * In Nightwing #101 (Part 1 of the Nightwing: Year One storyline), Dick Grayson is shown in a costume very similar to Tim Drake's (because of the snow), which is the costume he uses in . The Matt Hagen Clayface appeared looking very similar to his DCAU appearance as well. * Summer Gleeson was featured in the Black & White Feature of ''Batman: Gotham Knights'' #33 in very much the same manner she was on . * In Batman #486, Harold, Batman's mechanic, is debugging a computer animation program he created. On the screen, an image of Batman from is shown. * In Milestone Forever #2, which ties up the events of the old Milestone series, Rick Stone is referred to as "Richie". Though both Rick Stone and Richie Foley (who is based on Rick) are named Richard, the former had always been called "Rick" for short. * In [[w:c:dcdatabase:Blue Beetle Vol 2 27|Blue Beetle #27]], three kids try to get back at their bullies and teachers with the aid of a black magic book one of them purchased of the internet, much like Alan, Stew and their friend in "Wake the Dead". * In [[w:c:dcdatabase:Justice League of America 80-Page Giant Vol 2 1|Justice League of America 80-Page Giant #1]] (2009), a time-displaced Zatanna and Black Canary team up with the Crimson Avenger to stop a mobster named Valestra; one of his aliases is Chucky Sol. * In JLA Classified #33, Plastic Man is referred to as "Rubberband Man" by the Ten of the Royal Flush Gang. Though Rubberband Man was a name originally used in the Milestone comic, that was a one-issue villain. * The Condiment King is introduced into Mainstream Comics in Birds Of Prey #37 and dies in Final Crisis Aftermath: Run! #4, though his real name is "Mitchell Mayo" (pun intended) instead of Buddy Standler. * In ''Batgirl'' #15, Stephanie Brown (Batgirl) encounters a villain named the Mad Bomber (and looks like him), who dresses up as the Grey Ghost. In ''Batgirl'' #19, Batgirl refers to the Grey Ghost from the "old show". * In [[w:c:dcdatabase:Teen Titans: Cold Case Vol 1 1|Teen Titans: Cold Case]], one of the pictures on Tim Drake's wall resembles the logo of . * The broken, ring wielding (and green energy bandaged) arm messing with Green Lantern's concentration used in the episode "Ancient History" is used in the JLA Classified finale storyline "That Was Now, This Is Then" and in the apocalyptic future opening cinematic for DC Universe Online (though it's Hal Jordan's broken arm in both cases instead of John Stewart). * Flash running laps at high speed to save the world and fading into the Speed Force in the episode "Divided We Fall" was likely influenced by the "death" of Mainstream Comics' Barry Allen. Barry Allen's return in the beginning of "Final Crisis" bears strong similarities to how Flash was saved by the rest of the Founding Members in the aforementioned episode. * In Batman Confidential #36, Batman flies around in the first DCAU Batwing. * In Knight & Squire #4, Knight (the English Batman) attempts to imprint part of his mind into his suit to allow it to continue fighting should he be knocked out, but accidentally imprints a different part of his mind than intended. The result is Knight having to fight his own suit and beating it by striking the input ports like Terry did in the episode "Lost Soul". * In Superman #710, Batman shines a signal in the sky in the shape of Superman's S shield much like Luminus did in the episode "Solar Power" and like wise commented on how long it took him to "look up in the sky". The signal Batman used, however, was in the ultraviolet range so only Superman could see it so the signal itself was inverted much like the Bat-signal Paxton Powers used in the season one finale episode "Ascension" (though that signal looked normal up close). * In Flashpoint: Citizen Cold #1, Mister Freeze is seen in a somewhat different suit than usual and is using a different sort of freeze gun. In this altered timeline, Freeze is still trying to save his wife, Nora, and has apparently suffered a similar fate to his DCAU counterpart as his head separates from his suit and walks off with the legs attached to his helmet as he did in the episode "Cold Comfort" (though the legs are much smaller and "Cold" steps on him). * In Red Robin #25, Tim is asked where he will be 20 years down the line. Three scenarios run through his mind. One of them shows him as a new Batman in a suit similar to Terry's right down to the same red emblem and full face mask, but has three forearm spikes, a fully red utility belt, and a cape. Another scenario shows him working at a large computer with a dog next to him like Bruce does in . * In Nightwing #1, Nightwing fights a new villain called Saiko on a rooftop who purposely misses him to hit a water tower to "wash" him off the roof as Kyodai Ken did to him (as Robin) in the episode, "Day of the Samurai". * In Catwoman #2, Catwoman shows up to a charity event where Bruce Wayne is the center of attention with long blonde hair and wearing a red dress (and gets Bruce's immediate attention) as she did in the episode "The Cat and the Claw". * In Batman: The Dark Knight #2, several Batman rogues are injected with a chemical that appears similar to Scarecrow's fear gas, but takes away their fear much like in the episode "Never Fear" (though there are other effects mixed in). * In the new Action Comics series, John Corben is first introduced as an army sergeant who is working with Lex Luthor and has a thing for Lois Lane (much like in the series premiere, "The Last Son of Krypton"). He later willingly becomes Metallo to take down Superman and shortly after learns he is serving someone's else's agenda instead of his own (as he did in "The Way of All Flesh"). Also, Lex is revealed to be working with Brainiac and helps him to obtain what he wants in hopes of getting rid of Superman, but is seemingly double-crossed (like in "Stolen Memories"). ** John Henry Irons makes his debut working on the "Steel Soldier" project and later leaves due to Lex's decision to act prematurely and change what the project would be doing (as he did in "Prototype"). He later makes his debut as Steel when he fights Metallo so Superman wouldn't have to and beats him with a final blow from his hammer (like he did in "Heavy Metal"). Teen Titans * In the Season Two premiere episode, "How Long Is Forever", a future Robin is seen fighting crime as Nightwing. Though not his traditional look, his outfit displays the bird portion of his DCAU counterpart's emblem, but does not connect it around his back, which is based on his Mainstream Comic appearance. The Batman * In "A Fistful of Felt", the Ventriloquist is apparently "cured" at Arkham Asylum and attempts to live a normal life without Scarface, but doesn't succeed because Scarface is returned to him and he starts hearing his voice in his apartment like he did in the episode "Double Talk". After a job is spoiled by Batman, Scarface insists that there is a mole in the gang and comes to the conclusion that it is the Ventriloquist and has the gang try to kill him like he did in the episode "Read My Lips". * In "Artifacts", Nightwing has the same emblem as his counterpart and Mister Freeze puts himself in a cryo-chamber so he can survive to the distant future like he did in the episode "Meltdown" (though he hadn't really planned it there). He also has mechanical spider like legs from the waist down much like he did in episode "Cold Comfort" for his head. Ironically, this episode's "present" is actually twenty years ahead like was (from Bruce's time) and the "distant future" was about 1000 years ahead like the "Legion of Super-Heroes" were. Legion of Super-Heroes * Brainiac (voiced by Corey Burton), strongly resembles his DCAU counterpart in both character design and personality. * The episode "Unusual Allegiances" features the western-style villain Terra Man. His first gun resembles Tobias Manning's Interdimensional Six Gun. In the comics, Manning went by the name "Terra Man". * In the episode "Cry Wolf", one of the aliens at the bar resembles the alien Hawkgirl and Green Lantern fight in "Comfort and Joy". * In the two-part series finale episode "Dark Victory" the Thanagarians are reused character models from and and the Brainiac controlled Brainiac 5's ship uses the design for the machine Brainiac was "prepared" with in the Season 2 finale "Divided We Fall". Batman: The Brave And The Bold * In "Deep Cover For Batman", Owlman's costume bears many similarities to Justice Lord Batman's costume in that it includes a similar design, color scheme (with silver replaced by gold), the bands on the arms and legs given to all of the Justice Lords, and the spikes attached to the arm bands. * In the episode "Legends of the Dark Mite!", while Bat-Mite is pretending to be Batman, there's a shot of him standing on a roof silhouetted against a dark red sky until a lightning bolt flashes, directly mirroring the intro. * In "Mayhem of the Music Meister!", Arkham Asylum is revealed to look the same as it does in the DCAU (on the outside). * In "The Golden Age of Justice!", the JSA Museum sports a small picture of Batman that resembles the logo of . * In "The Super-Batman of Planet X", the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh (voiced by Kevin Conroy) uses a grappling hook very similar to the one Batman uses from onwards (same shape, but different in color and size). * In "Requiem For A Scarlet Speedster", Captain Boomerang appears (like other characters) in an almost identical fashion as he was on the episode "Flash and Substance". Additionally, he has Flash strapped to a giant boomerang almost identical to the one he used on that episode; only this one straps Flash’s feet down too. * In "The Siege Of Starro: Part Two", a Mother Box, a Thanagarian Soldier, and a Parademon (or images of them) can be seen among the Faceless Hunter's "trophies" looking the same as they do in the DCAU. * In "The Knights of Tomorrow!", an aging Joker explains his unexpected appearance by always surviving things like "getting blown up, falling down smoke stacks, and getting fed to sharks". These three instances are from the / crossover episode "World's Finest", the episode "Mad Love", and the episode "The Laughing Fish", respectively. * In "Darkseid's Descending", there are many things influenced by the DC Animated Universe. First, the teaser (which features Jennifer Hale as Killer Frost) has students in a classroom using laptops with the same design as those used by the students at the Hamilton Hill High School in the era. Second, the design of most Apokoliptian characters are the same as they were in the DCAU, with a more cartoonish look given to the show (like many other characters and objects). Third, Apokoliptian troops boom tube to Earth in the same locations as they did in "Destroyer": the Chinese Wall, Tokyo, Venice, Paris, Rome and London. Fourth, as a possible reference to Batman's "death" in Mainstream Comics, Darkseid attempts to blast Batman with his Omega Beams, but misses due to Batman's agility and makes a similar comment afterward about how impressive it was. ** Also, starting from this episode, the new Justice League satellite's halls, rooms, computers, and teleporters bear many similar designs to the Watchtower's during . * In "The All-New Batman: The Brave And The Bold #4, Creeper makes a comment to Harley Quinn about her being his type of girl and corrects her when she calls him a creep by saying "Creep'er'". Also, many characters appear with a similar design to their DCAU counterparts; most notably (and noticeably), Giganta. * In "Bat-Mite Presents: Batman's Strangest Cases" Bat-Mite presents different versions of Batman in a very similar manner to the episode "Legends of the Dark Knight". During the Scooby-Doo segment, Bat-Mite points out a coloring error on Batman's neck, completely ignoring the colors of Batman's emblem being inverted (like they were in the episode "Heart of Ice"). * In "Battle Of The Superheroes" a Red Kryptonite-infected Superman sends an armored Batman (based on the armor from from The Dark Knight Returns) flying through a building, flies around it, knocks him down into the street, and flies at him in the middle of the created crater in exactly the same way he does with Darkseid in the episode "Destroyer". Ironically, Michael Ironside voiced both Darkseid and the 80's Batman who is based on The Dark Knight Returns. * In "Night of the Batmen!", Batman is heavily injured in an explosion during a fight with Kanjar-Ro (while wearing electrified knuckle-dusters like Batman does in the Series Premiere "Secret Origins", the Series Finale "Starcrossed", the episode "Clash" and the Series Finale, "Destroyer"). Despite his protests, Batman ends up in several casts and resting in the Watchtower. Green Arrow, Aquaman, Captain Marvel, and Plastic Man attempt to fill the void left in Gotham from Batman's absence by pretending to be him. This leads to several references to the DCAU. ** While trying to get Batman to rest up from his injuries, Green Arrow tells him that if he doesn't let his bones set properly he could end up fighting crime with a Bat-cane as Bruce does in . ** A bank's doors explode before the two thieves exit to make their getaway much like in the intro (though the directions are reversed). ** While trying to make a Batman entrance, Green Arrow says "I am Vengeance. I am The Night. I am BATMAN!" as Batman did in the episode "Nothing to Fear" but fails to impress Deadshot (who is almost identical to his DCAU counterpart). ** While trying to come up with a look for his "Batman", Plastic Man morphs into Batman's appearance and the 80's Batman. Those Batmen are seen among the Batmen of the Multiverse (who appear at the end of the episode), as well as Batman Beyond and Batman's appearance. * In "Crisis: 22,300 Miles Above Earth", Martian Manhunter shapeshifts into a form similar to one he used to fight the Thanagarians during the Thanagarian invasion in the Series Finale, "Starcrossed" (the only real difference being color and animation style). * According to James Tucker, the episode "Bold Beginnings" is based on a script written by Paul Dini and Alan Burnett for a direct to video feature involving the Batman sometime just before or just after "Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman" (he wasn't sure which) that involves Aquaman, Elongated Man, and Zatanna all flashing back to their first meeting with the Dark Knight (or just their first case together). This script was taken (since they "were a bit behind of getting in a finished script" for their deadline) and adapted so the Elongated Man segment was for Plastic Man and the Zatanna segment was for Green Arrow (since they were recurring characters on the show and had different relationships with Batman).http://www.worldsfinestonline.com/news.php/news.php?action=fullnews&id=1152 * In "Mitefall", the series finale, the final scene showcases most characters from the show meeting for a farewell party in the Batcave. One shot shows the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh speaking with the Phantom Stranger, a nod to Kevin Conroy's parts. DC Universe Online * Brainiac (voiced again by Corey Burton), the main antagonist, is portrayed much closer to his DCAU counterpart than his Mainstream Comics one. His appearance seems to be a cross between the two and is made to look bigger and much more menacing. Several characters within the game as well as its biweekly comic series tie-in think of Brainiac as a machine and his true origins seem to be somewhat unclear (though he still seems to be from Colu, his home planet in Mainstream Comics). As in his DCAU appearances, he has used several duplicants of himself for battle and as decoys. Also, the entire apocalyptic future featured in the game's opening seems to have developed as a result of Brainiac's partnership with Lex Luthor, which he accomplished by promising Lex power, knowledge, and a better shot at Superman than he ever had much like the scenario in the episode "Divided We Fall". ** Brainiac's design also greatly resembles the Brainiac/Luthor Hybrid from "Divided We Fall", but with Braniac's traditional purple and green coloring as well as the face on the stomach Luthor had when Brainiac first emerged in "Panic in the Sky". * The final mission a "tech" player receives from their mentor (Batman or Joker, depending on whether they're hero or villain), has them fight a Brainiac duplicant of their mentor like the founding members of the Justice League did in the episode, "Divided We Fall". The fight takes place in the mentor's home base (or something similar) where the duplicant is trying to replace the original by destroying them. In Batman's case, the duplicant goes to the Batcave to replace him and malfunctions due to Batman's stance against taking a life like the H.A.R.D.A.C. duplicant did in the episode, "His Silicon Soul". * In the apocalyptic future Lex travels back from, an injured and now cybernetic Batman uses rockets in his feet to take off like Terry's Batsuit. * Nightwing's costume bears the bird symbol it does in , but also has the blue lines down his arms as it does in Mainstream Comics. * Unlike in Mainstream Comics, John Stewart's Green Lantern uniform is identical to his DCAU counterpart's (right down to the black gloves and constantly green eyes). * In the Booster Gold narration of the Metropolis University, Skeets' words "protecting his past to ensure your future" from the episode "The Greatest Story Never Told" are used when Booster starts promoting himself. * The holiday special features the Orange Lantern, Larfleeze, stealing people's presents that need to be recovered or destroyed by the player (depending on whether they're hero or villain). When the player "sets off" a tree, it takes off with rocket coming out of the bottom of the trunk much like the one in the episode "Christmas With the Joker". Also, one of Larfleeze's responses to being spotted is the "Jingle Bells, Batman Smells" song Joker sings in that episode. Batman: Arkham Asylum/Batman: Arkham City * Joker's involvement in both "Arkham Asylum" and "Arkham City" bear striking similarities to his final joke in the flashback of "Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker". "Arkham Asylum" has Joker arrange for Batman to arrive at the asylum to endure an onslaught of his rogues gallery before ultimately facing him himself and revealing the full scope of what he's done and faces Batman in a "fight to the death". In "Arkham City", Joker is revealed to be dying and injects batman with his blood to make him share the same fate. In the climax of the main story, Joker, with moments left to live, stabs Batman to get the upper hand, but instead causes his own death, at the hands of his own intended final joke for Batman and dies commenting on the irony. * Chapter 6 of the "Arkham City" digital comic series has Joker examining Riddler and Two-Face's suits from . * "Arkham City" features different "skins" (looks) for Batman, Robin, Nightwing, and Catwoman in different parts of the game. Among these looks are the Batman, Robin, and Catwoman designs, the Nightwing design, and the Batsuit (complete with wings for gliding). ** The Batman skins are showcased in Chapter 10 of the "Arkham Unhinged" digital comic series by Hugo Strange's questioning of people about their encounter with Batman. The accounts are shown in very much the same manner as episode "Legends of the Dark Knight" starting with a detailed Dark Knight Returns story, which is strikingly similar to it's portion of the aforementioned episode (which in turn combined different parts of the original comic) and ending with a panel where the witness says, "He didn't have a cape, man. No Cape! He's from the future, man." and a panel which strongly resembles the opening scene of "Pretty Poison" when Batman's holding the crook. Other * Brainiac being an android program from the planet Krypton, was a direct inspiration for his incarnation on The CW TV series "Smallville" where he is played by James Marsters. * Two-Face's two faces are traditionally caused by acid thrown in his face by Sal Maroni while questioning him in court. In The Dark Knight however, the court scene has Maroni pull a gun that Dent takes from him and his bad face is caused later on by an explosion (as it was in the episode "Two-Face). * The opening scene of the Supernatural episode "Like A Virgin" very closely resembles that of the series premiere episode "On Leather Wings" in that a passenger pf a relatively small aircraft askes the pilot if they "saw that" flying outside the window, looked like a large bat. Perhaps in respect to this, Batman is mentioned later in the episode. * The confrontation between Superman and Lex Luthor at the end of the premiere, "The Last Son of Krypton, Part III", is virtually identical to the opening scene of Part II of the series premiere of Iron Man: Armored Adventures: ** Evil businessman Obadiah Stane (who, like Luthor, is bald), is discussing armor and weapons in his office when someone points out the hero, Iron Man, hovering outside the window; ** Stane offers Iron Man a partnership, only to be met with an arms crossed silent treatment; ** Stane finally loses his composure, and Iron Man warns "I'll be watching you". *** Ironically, Mackenzie Gray (the voice of Obadiah Stane on Iron Man: Armored Adventures), plays an aging clone of Lex in the Season 10 premiere of Smallville. References Category:A to Z Category:Lists Category:Non-canon articles